Last November, the Notre Dame men’s and women’s cross country teams each secured top-15 finishes at the NCAA Championships. The Irish men claimed a 14th-place result, while the women locked up fourth-place. Both teams enter the 2024 season with plenty of potential under director of cross country Matt Sparks.
Men’s team
Though it enters the season unranked, the Notre Dame men’s team again projects as a significant player in the NCAA Great Lakes Region. Head coach Chris Neal has stocked up the group’s depth behind junior Ethan Coleman, Notre Dame’s top postseason contributor from a year ago. Coleman, an All-ACC selection in cross country, led the Irish with a 48th-place finish at NCAAs. Notre Dame returns three additional runners who appeared at nationals, including former ACC 8k champion graduate student Carter Solomon.
Fellow graduate student Josh Methner did not run at nationals last year but returns as a major weapon for 2024. He has two All-ACC selections in cross country under his belt, including one from last season. The former freshman All-American won the National Catholic Invite during the 2023 regular season. Another Irish runner who showed potential during last year’s regular season, junior Gabe Hinrichs has a chance to step into a larger role. A year ago, Hinrichs won the Winrow-Valparaiso Open and clocked in a personal record in the 8k at the ACC Cross Country Championships.
Perhaps Notre Dame’s most intriguing aspect on the men’s side arrives on the transfer portal. The Irish hit the portal hard during the offseason, bringing in six graduate students from around the nation. Zach Hughes, an in-conference transfer, jumps from ACC foe NC State with 11 All-ACC track and field selections and deep postseason experience. Michael Danzi comes from Columbia and is another former all-conference honoree in track and field. Sean Kay and Drake Prince each enter the program from Yale, with Kay an individual qualifier in last year’s NCAA nationals. Eli Meder (Hope College) and Cole Nash (Alaska Anchorage) round out the transfer class for Notre Dame.
Women’s team
The Notre Dame women begin the season ranked third in the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll. The Irish received a first-place vote after scoring their highest national finish in 21 years last season. Only NC State and Northern Arizona rank higher than the Irish, while Oregon and Washington join them inside the top five.
Notre Dame’s top two national finishers, Olivia and Andrea Markezich, graduated at the end of last year. However, the Irish return a plethora of strong runners that also competed in the postseason. Graduate student Erin Strzelecki took 37th at NCAAs last year, the highest finish among returning runners. Senior Siona Chisholm, the 2023 National Catholic Invite champion, returns having finished 114th at NCAAs. Sophomore Grace Schager, sophomore Gretchen Farley and senior Sophie Novak round out the field of returning national contributors.
On the women’s side, the Irish didn’t turn to the transfer portal as heavily but still brought in an impact runner. Graduate student Emily Covert joins the team after impressive stints at Colorado and Tennessee. Covert claimed a 50th-place result at the NCAA Championships last fall, a position that would have ranked fourth among 2023 Irish runners. Returning junior Caroline Lehman could also battle for a top spot after winning the Winrow-Valparaiso Open a year ago.
Notre Dame’s season begins Friday at the Crusader Invite in Valparaiso, Indiana. The Irish will then host back-to-back competitions — the National Catholic Invite (Sept. 20) and the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite (Oct. 4). The regular-season slate wraps up with Wisconsin Pre-Nationals on Oct. 19 in Madison, Wisconsin.
